LGBTQ news and entertainment
Zac Efron and Seth Rogen return for the second installment of the 2014 hit movie “Neighbors.”
Now that Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Byrne) have a second baby on the way, they are ready to make the final move into adulthood: the suburbs. But just as they thought they’d reclaimed the neighborhood and were safe to sell, they learn that the new occupants next door are a sorority even more out of control than Teddy (Efron) and his brothers ever dreamed of being.
In theaters May 20th.
Nate Silver, famous for successfully projecting the winner of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the 2012 presidential election, predicts that Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton will win their respective caucus’s in Iowa.
From Politico:
Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz have the greatest chances of winning the Iowa caucuses two weeks from Monday, new polling-based forecasts from FiveThirtyEight show.
Cruz has a 51 percent chance of winning Iowa when national and state polls as well as endorsements are taken into account. In that forecast, Donald Trump trails Cruz with a 29 percent chance of winning Feb. 1.
A look at just state polls shows a much closer race between Trump and Cruz, giving the business magnate a better chance of winning by 2 percentage points, 44 percent to Cruz’s 42 percent.
All around, Hillary Clinton is believed to have an all-but-certain victory over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Iowa.
The polls-plus forecast gives Clinton an 82 percent chance of winning, while Sanders comes in at 18 percent. That margin narrows dramatically with a look at just Iowa polls, with Clinton leading Sanders 66 percent to 34 percent.
Sir Elton John talks married life and parenthood with Ellen DeGeneres.
I’m thrilled to read that the fabulous Bette Midler will return to the Broadway stage next year in a new revival of Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!
Playbill has the announcement:
Stage and screen star Bette Midler has announced that she will play Dolly Gallagher Levi in a Broadway revival of the blockbuster 1964 musical, Hello, Dolly!
Four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks will direct, and Tony winner Warren Carlyle will choreograph the production, which will begin Broadway previews March 13, 2017, and open April 20 at a theatre to be announced.
Midler issued a statement saying, “I am looking forward to portraying one of the most beloved characters in all of American Musical Comedy, Dolly Levi, born Gallagher, in Hello, Dolly! I know I’m going to have the time of my life, and I am so glad to be under the wings of Scott Rudin as Producer and Jerry Zaks as Director. See you next year!”
Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman said, “Many times through the years I’ve been asked about bringing back Hello, Dolly! – and it has always been, ‘Who would be my dream Dolly?’ – and though I’ve had literally dozens of names tossed at me, I knew that we needed more than just a wonderful singer or a wonderful actor, so I held on to the hope that she would also be a distinctly original persona. Who is out there that has the necessary stature, warmth, the incredible talent and ability, and especially the singular, out-sized personality that I was looking for in a 21st century Dolly? Only one person: Bette Midler. Only Bette could bring Dolly brilliantly back to ‘the lights of 14th Street!'”
“There has not been a new production in 50 years,” Rudin told The Associated Press. “Partly it was the difficulty of who could play Dolly. It had to be someone who could take it to a different level. Bette is the only one who can. Never has there been something more inevitable than her in this role.”
I made my Broadway debut in 1995 in the last revival, which starred Tony Award-winner (and original “Dolly Levi”) Carol Channing, and it was truly a gift to be a part of.
A few years ago, when Tony Award winners Patti Lupone and director Jack O’Brien were in talks to bring the show back to Broadway, I was asked by Jerry Herman himself to choreograph the production. Unfortunately, Lupone and O’Brien had some artistic differences and the production never came to fruition. For several months, I spoke with the producer attached to the project at the time and certainly Bette was on the top of our list.
I wish the new endeavor only the best.
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Janet Hubert, who played Will Smith’s original Aunt Vivian on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, called out Jada Pinkett Smith…Posted by New York Daily News on Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Some backstory on the brou-haha via Eonline:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s Janet Hubert just came out swingin’ at former co-star Will Smith and his ladylove Jada Pinkett-Smith, who recently released a video voicing her desire to boycott the Oscars for the lack of diversity in their nominees.
Hubert released a 4-minute video on YouTube calling Jada out, and goodness, the sass cannot be denied.
“First of all, Miss Thing,” she began (oh yeah, we’re not kidding), “does your man not have a mouth of his own with which to speak?” OH SNAP.
She continued, “The second thing, girlfriend, there’s a lot of s–t going on in the world that you all don’t seem to recognize. People are dying. Our boys are being shot left and right. People are starving. People are trying to pay bills. And you’re talking about some [expletive] actors and Oscars. It just ain’t that deep.”
The Human Rights Campaign has endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president.
Via press release:
Out on the campaign trail, we’ve seen Secretary Clinton fight back against Republicans threatening to block our progress – and revoke, repeal, and overturn the gains made during President Obama’s two terms. Just as she has fought for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people as First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State.
In the time since she became the very first First Lady to march in a pride parade, she has led on bills to protect LGBT workers from employment discrimination, advanced hate crimes legislation, pushed for greater HIV/AIDS prevention and funding, and worked to extend partner benefits. As Secretary of State, she did more to advance LGBT equality as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy than any other diplomat in history, giving a landmark speech to the United Nations declaring that “gay rights are human rights.” She helped lead the United Nations to pass the first-ever U.N. resolution on the human rights of LGBT people, and created the Global Equality Fund to advance the rights of LGBT people around the globe.
As a candidate for president, Hillary Clinton has made LGBT equality a pillar of her campaign, and recently unveiled the most robust and ambitious LGBT agenda any candidate for president has ever laid out. She has vowed to fight for the Equality Act – a bill that would finally offer explicit, clear, and permanent nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people at the federal level — and her detailed LGBT agenda specifically calls for dropping the ban on open transgender military service, outlawing dangerous conversion therapy for minors, ending the epidemic of anti-transgender violence and supporting HIV prevention and affordable treatment, among other proposals that would advance equality and support the LGBT community.
Debuts June 17th on Netflix.
Well, dammit.
Glenn Frey, co-founder of the legendary rock band The Eagles, has passed away at the very young age of 67 due to intestinal issues.
Frey co-wrote and sang the majority of the Eagles hits, including “Take It Easy,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” and “Heartache Tonight,” to name a few. He also co-wrote “Hotel California” and “Desperado” with Don Henley.
The band earned 6 Grammy Awards along the way.
Frey also had a successful solo career recording hits like “The Heat Is On,” “Smugglers Blues,” “You Belong to the City.”
From the Hollywood Reporter:
Eagles bandmate Don Henley said in a statement: “He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry — and with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed. But, Glenn was the one who started it all. He was the spark plug, the man with the plan.”
From the Eagles website:
It Is With The Heaviest of Hearts That We Announce…
…the passing of our comrade, Eagles founder, Glenn Frey, in New York City on Monday, January 18th, 2016.
Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia.
The Frey family would like to thank everyone who joined Glenn to fight this fight and hoped and prayed for his recovery.
Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us, his family, the music community & millions of fans worldwide.
Cindy Frey | Taylor Frey | Deacon Frey | Otis Frey|
Don Henley | Joe Walsh | Timothy B. Schmit | Bernie Leadon | Irving Azoff
Montana’s Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by announcing an executive order protecting LGBT folks in the state.
Via press release:
In a press conference earlier today Governor Bullock celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day by noting that it is time to “recommit to King’s values of compassion and equity” by expanding protections for LGBT people in Montana. He also spoke to Montana’s private business owners, stating “while an executive order applies to state government only I encourage private businesses to examine their policies as well.”
“Discrimination in any form is wrong, and through his actions today, Governor Bullock has taken a bold step to expand equality and fairness for all,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We commend him for doing everything in his administrative power to fight for the rights of LGBT Montanans, and hope his actions encourage other government officials to make safeguarding protections for all residents and visitors a priority.”
Currently there is no federal law or regulation that explicitly bans workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and Montana is one of 31 states where people are at risk of being fired or refused employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Human Rights Campaign adds:
The executive order, which goes into effect immediately, will direct Montana’s Department of Administration to ensure that state agencies, state contractors and subcontractors do not discriminate in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The order also bans discrimination in the provision of government services, and calls for inclusive non-discrimination and harassment prevention programs with an emphasis on cultural diversity.
In 2008, former Governor Brian Schweitzer issued an executive order that protected state employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Today, Governor Bullock continues Schweitzer’s pro-equality legacy by extending those same protections based on gender identity, and banning discrimination on both bases by state contractors and subcontractors.
